After a big year of media spending, marketers will be making some changes in 2025. They will pull back on traditional media. They will also invest more heavily in CTV advertising, especially at the local level. And they have big plans to use generative AI to achieve their goals.

Last year, online marketing spending amounted to $360.9 billion. When offline spending of $191 billion is added in, the total reached $551.9 billion, reports Winterberry. Here are the spending details.

Offline Media Outcomes

Offline spending grew in every media category except print (newspaper and magazine).

Linear TV did particularly well with an 8.9% growth rate to $58.9 billion. The heated political campaigns drove much of the advertising growth. Similarly, direct mail achieved impressive results with a 2.6% growth rate over the previous year.

Online Media Outcomes

The overall 5.3% increase in offline media was overshadowed by the 14.2% increase in online marketing spending increases. Some formats experienced double digit growth.

• CTV 19% ($28.8 billion)
• Video 17% ($30.5 billion)
• Search 14.5% ($123.6 billion)
• Influencer 16% ($7.6 billion)
• Social 19.6% ($82.7 billion)

Advertising Outlook

For 2025, Winterberry analysts expect a 6.1% increase over last year’s ad and marketing spending, amounting to $585.6 billion. This is higher than the expected GDP growth of 2.5% this year. But unknowns persist. Inflation remains higher than the government would like.

If high prices and potential layoffs dim consumer sentiment, spending may fall. Regardless of the uncertainty, CTV advertising will be a star in the media universe.

Offline Media Predictions

Offline media will likely suffer a 5.5% decline compared to last year’s spending and come in at $180.5 billion. Linear TV and print will experience double-​digit declines.

For now, marketers remain excited about experiential and sponsorship spending. They plan an 8% spending bump, bringing the total to $22.4 billion.

Online Media Predictions

Digital marketing will achieve a 12.3% overall growth rate with $405.2 billion flowing into media company coffers. The top growth channels are likely to be:

• CTV Advertising 15.8% $33.4 billion
• Video 16.7% $35.6 billion
• Influencer 14.1% $8.6 billion

Third-​Party Use

Third party data spending will experience a 7.2% growth rate and reach $9.1 billion. While some marketers spend on multiple service providers, they still might not have what they need. Media sellers with a subscription to AdMall can share the latest information on industry verticals, consumer spending, and key targeted audience information like purchase intent.

The Role of AI

Marketers have relied on generative AI to help with content generation. They are moving into “reasoning-​based” insights that “combine content and audience data.” Winterberry analysts believe marketers are using the cost savings realized from AI use to “increase velocity and volume of content created.”

CTV and Linear TV 

With the projected CTV spending level to exceed linear this year or next, marketers will need to adjust their mix. Live sports programming was one major reason marketers continued to advertise heavily on linear TV. CTV properties now offer this kind of content, giving marketers even more reason to buy CTV advertising.

When combining video, such as CTV advertising, with display, marketers do well. Frequence analysts report they achieve “threefold increase in conversion rates — with up to a 50% lower cost per conversion.” 

A study comparing conversion rates in campaigns using display ads and video provided further insight. Frequence analysts noted that the 70%-30% media mix appeared to be optimal. Ultimately, they recommended combining CTV ads with another format.

Remind your clients CTV advertising is making inroads into the budgets of local businesses. For now, Borrell Associates reports that the CTV/​OTT media format attracts bigger ad spenders. 55% of local advertising buyers that spend over $10K a year opt for CTV/​OTT. Your clients won’t want to be left behind as the transition continues.

Photo by CottonBro Studio on Pexels.